I used to think I didn’t like asparagus, but it turned out to be—as these aversions often are—a textural problem. Their stalks would remain fibrous and tough even as half the stalk and the tips turned to mush. My mind was changed a few years ago when some restaurant dish I ordered came with a salad of pleasantly al…

I know Canada is a mostly forgotten footnote in world history, but I feel like this article should at least mention Canada’s weird history with margarine. Before Newfoundland was officially part of the country, margarine was an illegal substance in Canada. But Newfoundland is a big frozen rock unfriendly to dairy…

The spelling is absurd; there is no justification for a soft G before an A. The letter G can be pronounced with its soft sound only before the vowels E, I, or Y. So the word should be either “margiarine” or “margerine”.

Wisconsin takes their butter extremely seriously. It was only last year that you could sell Kerrygold butter in the state again, given the hoops one has to jump through. WI has a law (dated 1953) requiring all butters to be rated on various measures — including flavor, body and color — by the federal government or…

All fats come in a form called “triglycerides.” These molecules have a glycerol backbone and 3 fatty acid chains. Fatty acid chains are long molecules that are essentially big carbon chains. Now, if every carbon on this chain has the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms…

The Pang name has been dishonored. Last week, upon reading about this curious state fair food item “deep fried butter,” I made the fateful decision to replicate the dish within the sanctity of my family home. The decision did not come easy. The notion of deep frying butter felt deeply shameful. I was above this…

Standing in the checkout line, I realized I had forgotten to get butter. I dispatched Mrs Lizardo to get it while I emptied the cart. She came back with margarine. How long should I hold it against her? Note: it has already been more than 20 years.